Welcome to Manga, Graphic Novels, and Comic Books

I love graphic novels, comics, and manga.

They were some of the first books I picked up and enjoyed reading. They seemed to be the natural extension of the picture book - at least that’s what young me thought. There is a lot more nuance to them than picture books.

My first graphic novel or comic book (depending on who you talk to) was my dad’s Asterix books that he had from the 60s. I found them at my grandfather’s house and brought them home to enjoy over and over again. I really liked Cleopatra.

One of my hardcover Asterix books along with Persepolis and a Haunted Mansion comic book. I was surprised by how much I liked the Haunted Mansion book - though the ending is a little abrupt.

Unfortunately, back in the 90s Astrix was almost impossible to find in the US. I had to wait until my dad traveled overseas for him to bring me back a copy...and that was only if he could also find an English book store.

Thankfully by the 2000s, bookstores in the US were starting to import manga and I was able to start collecting Yu Yu Hakusho. Though some of my favorite manga I found at my local library in the form of Kindaichi Mysteries (where you needed to really pay attention to the drawing to help solve the mystery).

One of my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol., a collection of Zits (one of my favorite strip comics), and the manga My Brother's Husband about a man meeting his brother-in-law after his twin's death.

I’ve read a lot of manga, graphic novels, and comic books, but my knowledge only really scratches the surface of everything out there. I loved the drawings, the stories, and how easy they were for me to read.

And they were some of the first forms of story telling I wanted to write.

Except writing a graphic novel, manga, or comic is a lot tougher than most other media. Similar to scripts for plays, TV shows, and movies, there are a lot of moving parts to graphic novels, comics, and manga. The script can’t just include dialogue, but details as to what is going on in each panel. Consistency is very important.

Directions also aren’t like what you see in movie and play scripts. See writers aren’t always the artists, so the writers need to describe (in detail) every detail of a scene so that the artists gets it right early...instead of realizing later that the character should have been doing x for five panels when they drew the character doing y.

The script for a graphic novel must be finalized before drawing begins...and once drawing begins, changes are really hard to make unless you want to scrap the entire project. When I’m writing a comic script, I have to be conscious of what can fit on a page and how to build tension for when that page is turned. Knowing how to pull off a good transition is takes a lot of practice.

Then there’s the technique of using the panels themselves for story telling. The size, shape, boarder versus no boarder, and even the space between panels all enhance how the story is told. No boarders might show that time is open ended or extends beyond the boundary set up by the page. In consistent panel sizes or jagged shapes might show a character’s or situations’s instability. The spaces between panels might be neutral to show negative space or might be in dark shades to suggest a dream sequence.

Depending on where a person learns about the art of writing comics can drastically change their styles. I’m more familiar with Japanese and manga techniques as those are the books I read most often and I’ve taken classes on their style. European and American styles tend to have similar styles, but there are notable differences in how backgrounds and static lines are used.

Representing time and movement can be particularly challenging. How do you show a static character running? Panel over panel or with lots of lines or a cloud of dust rising up behind them? How do you slow a scene down to a crawl or build tension? Draw incremental movements within 5 panels then make the reader turn the page?

As more writers and artist collaborate, a mixing of styles has emerged. Which makes writing the scripts even more important.

I’ve written before how comic, graphic novel, and manga story telling can be preferred to more traditional text. Some people don’t have words, only pictures to convey a message. That’s okay.

Writing is art, though not all art is writing. If you’d like to try your hand at writing comics, manga, and graphic novels. I recommend reading the final products as well as the production notes and scripts.

I’ve been writing a webcomic for over 5 years (really just for the hell of it) and I’m still learning as I go. Sometimes I stare at my scripts wondering what the hell I was thinking or picturing. Other times, I forget entirely what it was I was trying to write.

But as my one yoga teacher likes to say - “the joy is in the journey”.

If you really want to write a comic, graphic novel or manga - go for it. Search for advice and take a class. Find out what works best for you.

And this ends my writing series (for now). I’ll be out next week. So I’ll see you next time.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please, like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.

Welcome to scripts, plays, radio shows, podcasts, and on screen

Reading plays in school was a lot more fun in a group setting than when we had to sit quietly and read in our heads. In fact my 12th grade English teacher had to find a recording of Hamlet for our class to listen to since we were struggling so much (hearing the actors emotional tones helped).

Since moving back to Virginia (and the pandemic), I’ve come to miss my monthly excursion into New York City to grab a slice of pizza and a root beer before seeing a Broadway play. My current favorite is without a doubt Hadestown. But I’m also happy to recommend Come From Away, Beetlejuice, To Kill a Mockingbird, and especially The Play that Goes Wrong (I saw it three times).

I haven’t seen this on stage, but I love the miniseries adaptation.

Now writing scripts in any form is an art form. That’s why Shakespeare was known a playwright - the “wright” part indicates a type of craftsman. So Shakespeare was a crafter of plays, not just a writer.

When I was in my high school Creative writing class (because two years of this class makes me an “expert”), I learned to write stage places and scripts for movies. Going into the unit, I thought they would be very similar in formate. They are not. Placement of instructions on the page, dialogue, and even when to use italics can vary wildly.

Depending on the medium, scripts can require stage directions, camera movements, lighting, sound effects, possible instructions for special effects, emotions for the actors to express, cut scenes, music, etc.

Needless to say there are a lot of components and this is just for plays and movie scripts. Radio plays and podcasts have their own laundry list of components that don’t completely line up with the above list.

Recently, I’ve started writing a Very short radio play (about 15 minutes) - which required me look up the proper format because it doesn’t follow a stage play format at all. Part of me wants to rearrange the whole thing as a short stage play. Doing so will require me to revamp the whole [bleepin’] format.

And this isn’t even getting into genre bending performance art.

Remember how last week I was writing about poetry and lyrics. Well depending on the genre, a script might require a dance sequence, music, songs, or poetry. Now the script writer doesn’t have to give a ton of direction for this (typically) that’s the director and choreographer’s jobs to determine. For music, you’ll typically have the writer including the written music as well (or they’ll hire someone to do that writing).

I will one day see this on stage, but it’s not a play in the traditional sense. It is a choreopoem.

If you want to write scripts of any kind, I definitely recommend taking classes on it. These are not like the short story or novel forms that we’ve been exposed to since we were very young children. There are a lot of moving parts and people to work with.

(I recently watched a live stream performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by a YouTuber having all of the actors act via Zoom and there is a hilarious subplot that goes into a group trying to create a play and it going terribly wrong. This is one of the better examples of how the script writing process can go. Go watch it, the guy who plays Oberon is the best. Just know that it is over 3 hours long.)

However, if you just want some practice to entertain your friends or practice a bit because your still stuck in quarantine - I recommend first learning about the types of performing arts you will want to write for.

So here’s a list:

• The traditional stage play - probably the most familiar of script writing as Americans at least start learning about plays in elementary school. You’ll need a list of actors, stage directions, setting information, and informations on what the characters look like and how they feel (this list is not comprehensive).
• The stage musical - similar to the traditional play, but with the moving parts of dance sequences and musical numbers. You need a music background to properly write these.
• Movies and TV scrips - not only do you need to direct the actors, have good notes on the setting, lighting, and sounds, but you have the extra component of camera movements. Depending on the budget, you also might get to have access to a nice special effects team.
• Radio plays - lack all the visual components of the stage play, musical, and movie/TV script, but need a little direction in the audio effects and stage directions.
• Podcasts - similar to radio plays (honestly they are the new radio play).
• Experimental - I would only recommend trying to write an experimental script for an advance script writer. These scripts know all the rules of script writing and may throw all of that out the window. 

Note - most scripts have a length equivalent of one page per minute of acting or performing. This isn’t always the case.

Second note - directors might take your script and choose to toss all your directions and only keep the dialogue. Directors get to do that.

And for those of you reading this thinking that actors improvise a lot of what you see on stage or screen - I can assure you they do not. Most actors follow what the director says and the director gets final say on everything.

I’ve seen The Play that Goes Wrong three times and each time it was (almost) the exact same play each time, with different actors.

And remember, I’m not expert on this.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post, or it really pissed you off, please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome to Poems and Lyrics

In times of turmoil and deep distress, some people are able to produce amazing art. However, turmoil, pain, and suffering aren't necessary. I know I create best when I've been given a nice cup of tea and a warm blanket to curl up under. 

Between the recent protests, COVID-19 still being a threat, and any personal events that might have left your head spinning (I unfortunately have), you might want to put pen to paper to word vomit all your feelings and sort out all your emotions. 

I say do it.

But what do you want to write?

Stories, fiction or non? Letters to your representative and senator? Do you want to stand up before a crowd and give them a speech on how things need to be changed? 

What about writing a song or poem?

A few days ago, Lindsey Ellis released a video on YouTube regarding protest music during the 2000s. Listening to her describe the different songs as well as reading some of the lyrics reminded me of how similar song lyrics and poetry are. 

Quick question, is the following quote taken from a poem or a song?

"Run, run, run away

Buy yourself another day

A cold wind's whispering secrets in your ear

So low only you can hear"

Are you not sure or are you having to think about it. Maybe you've heard the quote before and can't quite place it, but you definitely know that it has a rhythm and beat.

The answer is that it's the song "Kingdom Come" by The Civil Wars (from the Hunger Games soundtrack). If you totally knew that, congratulations you may have a virtual cookie and bragging rights.

Personally, I don't see that much difference between lyrics to a song and words written in a poem. In theory you can set music to both or speak the words out loud without a background. Some song lyrics are first written as poems and have music added at a later date. Some music compositions are used over and over again with different lyrics like the composition for "Turkey in the Straw" (which at one point had super racist lyrics) or is it "Do your Ears Hang Low?". 

The songs aren't exactly the same, but on occasion I'll hear the tune and start singing along using one set of lyrics and switch over to the other set. 

Even the U.S. national anthem under went this treatment. The original words were written as a poem and were later put to music (the tune is actually from British drinking song - go figure) by people hearing the poem  spoken at public houses. 

My point is: there's a lot in common with writing song lyrics and writing poetry.

Until there isn't.

Poetry has undergone a lot of changes. Breaking forms and discarding a rhyme scheme are only two elements that a lot of modern poems shy away from.

Lyrics to songs, however, tend to follow a formula which includes a rhyme scheme, chorus, and a bridge before the ending of a song. This form isn't set in stone and some songs break the trend, but it's hard to get a hit top 40 without these elements.

That doesn't mean that artists shouldn't experiment with their poetry or their song lyrics. Knowing the foundational rules sets the stage for which the artist and/or writer gets to play. Then they break the rules so hard it leaves their critics' heads spinning.

I'll be honest, I'm much more familiar with poetry than lyric writing (even if I do find them similar). I've loved writing poetry since I was a child in elementary school learning all the different styles and forms. When I got to college, I did have one professor tell me that my poetry was too "mathematically styled" and that "I had no soul" for poetry (*incoherent grumbling from behind my computer screen) - we were writing sonnets. I hate writing sonnets.

It wasn't until I picked up Terrance Hayes poetry collection: "American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassins" (which I totally recommend by the way) that I learned that there was more than one type of sonnet. The American sonnet in particular, throws all the rules out the window and only keeps the 14 line limit.

The more I read of other modern poets (the ones they don't make you read in school) such as Nikita Gill (my favorite), Amanda Lovelace, Hasan Namir, Danez Smith, Morgan Parker, and Rupi Kaur, the more I've learned to let words flow like emotions. A lot of the poetry I read is by LGBTQ+ and non-white authors, who write very different poems than what I read in school. I learned about most of these poets at my favorite New York book store: Bluestockings Bookstore, Cafe & Activist Center (which I hope opens up safely after the lock down there ends).

Personally, I prefer the poems and collections I've picked up from indie bookstores and zines. They're much more expressive and emotional - meant to be read out loud or preformed on stage. 

I've since moved away from the more traditional forms of poetry (with the exception of the occasional limerick and haiku) and have let myself write what flows from my mind. Then I madly rewrite the poem. Then rewrite it again and again, until I'm satisfied with it.

Imagine my surprise when my first poem published was one of my more traditional in style and form. 

But my publishing history isn't what's important here. It's understanding that experimenting and blending writing forms should be encouraged. Modern poems that don't have a traditional or conventional form should be taught in schools. Teach kids about the song lyric forms along side odes and sonnets. 

One of the more interesting books I read (long after I left school) was For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide: When the Rainbow is Enuf which is a choreopoem by Ntozake Shange. Before picking up this book, I had no idea what a choreopoem was, but I'd taken a few dance and history of dance classes to understand how to read the stage directions. The dialogue is all poetry, some of it spoken, some of it set to music. Sometimes the women on stage are dancing and sometimes they are frozen statues.

There is a Tyler Perry movie of the work available to stream (I unfortunately haven't watched it yet) and might be easier for some people to understand instead of reading the book. If given the opportunity, I'd like to see it on stage as it was originally intended to be presented.

But now were getting into another form of writing, one which I think I'll have a blog entry on next week. So get ready for scripts: onstage, motion picture, and radio.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.